A Fond Farewell to Our Longest-Serving Library Staff

In 1962, a young man joined the then Singapore University’s Library as a clerk. As the university and library changed over the decades, this young man too joined in the journey of transformation and growth.

In all, Mr Seah has spent 55 years of his life with NUS Libraries, served under 7 different University Librarians, and this is his last week with us as a colleague – but not as a friend. He will be leaving the Science Library, but in these 55 years, he has been a part of almost every department and branch of NUS Libraries – he was also instrumental in the setting up of the Brenner Library in Biopolis and the NUS High School Library.

You may have seen a triptych of posters detailing Mr Seah’s career as our longest serving library staff in the Science and Hon Sui Sen Memorial Libraries. Of course, his most important contributions cannot be expressed in words, as he has been a friend, mentor, confidante and valued teammate to so many of us in NUS Libraries.

The posters next to the HSSM Library office.Close-up of the first poster. Spot Mr Seah in one of the photos!

Though he will no longer be working in the NUS Libraries, you might still catch sight of him when he visits. Mr Seah is an active man, and age has not slowed him down. We hope that his next journey outside the university will be just as memorable and wonderful as his time with us has been.

Here is a timeline of Mr Seah’s time with us, alongside the transformation of the university and library.

Timeline of Mr Seah’s career in NUS Libraries (timeline is not to scale)

Have you ever met Mr Seah? If you have any well-wishes to give him, or some anecdote about him you want to recount, share them with us in the comments!